Fuel cells convert chemical energy directly into electrical energy with high efficiencies and environmental benefits, as compared with traditional heat engines. Yttria-stabilized zirconia is perhaps the material with the most potential as an electrolyte in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), owing to its stability and near-unity ionic transference number. Although there exist materials with superio...

The immunosuppressive cyclosporine A derivative, O-hydroxyethyl-D(Ser)(8)-cyclosporine (SDZ IMM 125), was examined for its ability to induce apoptosis in rat hepatocytes cultured for 4 or 20 h. Four hours after SDZ IMM 125 treatment, chromatin condensation and fragmentation, and the number of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeled and Annexin V-positive cell...

The acute effects of interleukin 2 (IL-2) were determined in the rat cremaster microcirculation model by intravital, light, and electron microscopy to better understand the pathophysiology of the IL-2-induced vascular leak syndrome. Four groups of rats were studied over a 2-h monitoring period. One group received 1 x 10(6) units of IL-2/kg i.v. (n = 10), while the remaining groups received IL-2...

The design concept and dosimetric characteristics of a new applicator system for intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) are presented in this work. A new hard-docking commercial system includes polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) applicators with different diameters and applicator end angles and a set of secondary lead collimators. A telescopic device allows changing of source-to-surface distance (S...

Increased permeability of retinal blood vessels in human diabetic retinopathy is well known clinically. Its morphologic equivalent is unknown. In dogs with 5 years of poorly controlled alloxan diabetes and nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy comparable to that of man, permeability and patency of retinal blood vessels were tested with the protein tracer horseradish peroxidase and evaluated by ...

Through long-term laboratory selection, we have generated a Drosophila melanogaster population that tolerates severe, normally lethal, level of hypoxia. This strain lives perpetually under severe hypoxic conditions (4% O(2)). In order to shed light on the mechanisms involved in this adaptation, we studied the respiratory function of isolated mitochondria from the thorax of hypoxia-adapted flies...

The dosimetric advantage of modulated electron radiotherapy (MERT) has been explored by many investigators and is considered to be an advanced radiation therapy technique in the utilization of electrons. A computer-controlled electron multileaf collimator (MLC) prototype, newly designed to be added onto a Varian linac to deliver MERT, was investigated both experimentally and by Monte Carlo simu...

objective(s): the objective of this study was to investigate the antibacterial activities of magnesium oxide nanoparticles (mgo np) alone or in combination with other antimicrobials (nisin and heat) against escherichia coli and staphylococcus aureus in milk.materials and methods: first, the combined effect of nisin and mgo nanoparticles was investigated in milk. then the combined effect of nisi...

berangan banana were treated with hot water at 50 ºc for 0 (control), 10, and 20 min and then kept at room temperature (25±2 ºc), 75-80% rh to observe the ripening progress. firmness and activity of cell wall degradation enzymes such as polygalacturonase (pg), pectin methylesterase (pme), and pectate lyase (pl) were determined for treated and untreated banana. the microstructure of banana peel ...